Rosemary Heath in her home. (Kim Tunnicliffe/WBZ NewsRadio)
TAUNTON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Thanks to the kindness of strangers, the widow of the hero from the deadly 2016 Taunton stabbing rampage will get to stay in her home.
Rosemary Heath's husband George died protecting her and a pregnant Bertucci's waitress from a knife-weilding man three years ago.
Since then, she's lost her job due to PTSD. Her unemployment ran out, and she was unable to pay her mortgage. Then, the mortgage company started the foreclosure process without telling her.
"Thursday night, my girlfriend messaged me saying, 'I'm so sorry, I saw your house is being auctioned,' and I was mortified," she told WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe. "I'm like, what? Oh my god, no!"
That's when Rosemary's sister sprang into action, creating a GoFundMe page to raise $25,000.
As of noon Tuesday, $95,000 had been raised.
Rosemary said she'll use the extra money to try to pay off the entire mortgage. She described just what the house means to her.
"It's everything," she said. "George and I got married in the back yard, and all our memories are here ... Thanks to the community, who is amazing, I'm not not going to lose my home!"
To donate to the GoFundMe for Rosemary Heath, click here.
WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App